2023-11-04 10:09:06
Los Angeles (AFP) – Veteran distributor Stephen Curry planted a last-minute basket and led the Golden State Warriors to victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder 141-139, Friday in the NBA.
Published on: 04/11/2023 – 11:09 Last updated: 04/11/2023 – 11:08
2 minutes
It was the first evening of the new “In-Season” tournament with a cup system, which league commissioner Adam Silver hopes will give additional interest to matches early in the season.
The 30 clubs were divided into six groups of five, and each team will play a total of four matches this month to determine the six leaders who will be joined by two teams in the quarter-finals. All matches of this new cup are counted within the NBA League and regular season standings, with the exception of the final match on December 9 in Las Vegas.
After an opening loss, Golden State achieved its fifth win in a row, occupying second place in the Western Conference with the same score as the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
In a match that witnessed the identity of the leader changing 23 times, the numbers were tied 139-139, when Currie, the four-time league champion, took matters into his own hands, penetrating the basket area and playing a lob shot twenty seconds before the end of time.
After Oklahoma protested against Draymond Green (15 points) following the ball before it entered the basket, the referees decided that the basket was legal.
Curry (35 points) was the best scorer in the match with 30 points, including 5 three-pointers, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Another veteran, Klay Thompson, added 18 points, including 4 three-pointers, while veteran substitute distributor Chris Paul made 13 assists.
For the loser, who was without his Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander due to a knee injury, his compatriot Lou Dort was the best scorer with 29 points, and Chet Holmgren added 24.
Even without Shay, Oklahoma was not up for grabs. The Warriors led by two points at halftime, but Dort scored 11 points early in the third to put his team ahead by five, before the Warriors fought back and tied 106-106 early in the final quarter.
“They pressured us the whole game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, acknowledging the fear after resorting to video to decide Curry’s final attack.
He explained, “When I watched the replay, it looked like Draymond touched the rim of the basket. I think they tried to determine whether Draymond’s intervention affected the shot… but in the end we survived.”
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